The Story of The Dying Swan

In 1905 a 25 year old Anna Pavlova, who had just become a ballerina at the Mariinsky Theatre, asked Michel Fokine to create a solo dance for her to perform at a gala concert. Inspired by Lord Tennyson’s poem “The Dying Swan” and swans she had seen in public parks, they created a choreography to Saint-Saëns's cello solo, Le Cygne.

Fokine remarked in Dance Magazine (August 1931):

It was almost an improvisation. I danced in front of her, she directly behind me. Then she danced and I walked alongside her, curving her arms and correcting details of poses. Prior to this composition, I was accused of barefooted tendencies and of rejecting toe dancing in general. The Dying Swan was my answer to such criticism. This dance became the symbol of the New Russian Ballet. It was a combination of masterful technique with expressiveness.

The ballet was first titled The Swan but then acquired its current title, following Pavlova's interpretation of the work's dramatic arc as the end of life. The dance is composed principally of upper body and arm movements and tiny steps called pas de bourrée suivi.

The Dying Swan was first performed by Pavlova at a gala at the Noblemen's Hall in Saint Petersburg, Russia on Friday, December 22, 1905. It was first performed in the United States at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City on March 18, 1910. American dance critic and photographer Carl Van Vechten noted that the ballet was "the most exquisite specimen of [Pavlova's] art which she has yet given to the public."

Pavlova performed the piece approximately 4,000 times, and on her deathbed in The Hague, reportedly cried, "Prepare my swan costume."

Fokine's granddaughter, Isabelle, notes that the ballet does not make "enormous technical demands" on the dancer but it does make "enormous artistic ones because every movement and every gesture should signify a different experience," which is "emerging from someone who is attempting to escape death." She notes that modern performances are significantly different from her grandfather's original conception and that the dance today is often made to appear to be a variation of Swan Lake, which she describes as "Odette at death's door." Isabelle says that the ballet is not about a ballerina being able to transform herself into a swan, but about death, with the swan as a metaphor.

Pavlova was recorded dancing The Dying Swan in a 1925 silent film, to which sound is often added. The short ballet has influenced interpretations of Odette in Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, particularly during the parting of the lovers in the first lakeside scene.

See Anna Pavlova perform The Dying Swan here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8s__C1s-ohQ The Dying Swan By Alfred, Lord Tennyson

The plain was grassy, wild and bare, The wild swan's death-hymn took the soul Wide, wild, and open to the air, Of that waste place with joy Which had built up everywhere Hidden in sorrow: at first to the ear An under-roof of doleful gray. The warble was low, and full and clear; With an inner voice the river ran, And floating about the under-sky, Adown it floated a dying swan, Prevailing in weakness, the coronach* stole And loudly did lament. Sometimes afar, and sometimes anear; It was the middle of the day. But anon her awful jubilant voice, Ever the weary wind went on, And took the reed-tops as it went. With a music strange and manifold, Flow'd forth on a carol free and bold; Some blue peaks in the distance rose, As when a mighty people rejoice And white against the cold-white sky, With shawms, and with cymbals, and harps of Shone out their crowning snows. gold, One willow over the water wept, And the tumult of their acclaim is roll'd And shook the wave as the wind did sigh; Thro' the open gates of the city afar, Above in the wind was the swallow, To the shepherd who watcheth the evening star. Chasing itself at its own wild will, And the creeping mosses and clambering And far thro' the marish green and still weeds, The tangled water-courses slept, And the willow-branches hoar and dank, Shot over with purple, and green, and yellow. And the wavy swell of the soughing reeds, And the wave-worn horns of the echoing bank, And the silvery marish-flowers that throng The desolate creeks and pools among, Were flooded over with eddying song.

*A coronach is a funeral song or lamentation, from the Gaelic 'Corranach'.

Across Down 2. Influenced 1. Composer 3. Theater 5. Poet 4. Costume 7. Deathbed 6. Choreographer 9. Animal 8. Dance Creation 10. Shoe 10. Dancer 11. Instrument 12. Step 13. Music 14. Alone Fun Facts about Anna Pavlova

Lived: 1881 - 1931. Born in Russia.

As a young dancer, Anna had to work very hard. She was too tall and willowy. She was not strong. She practiced everyday and took extra lessons when she could afford it.

Anna was the first ballerina to travel around the world performing. Her company travelled to Europe, North America, South America, India, and Australia.

Anna had weak feet! The modern ballet shoe was invented for her. These have a hard toe box and a shank to support the arch of the foot.

Anna was famous for dancing the story of The Dying Swan. She performed it over 4000 times.

The Pavlova is a fancy dessert named after Anna Pavlova. Design your own Swan Costume